It is quite common to apply a variety of devices to the surface of skin in an effort to beautify and/or improve its health and feel. Among the many devices used are those that are designed to remove hair from the skin—so called “depilators”. The mechanical versions of these devices operate to forcefully remove each hair follicle it reaches from the skin. After several treatments, such devices can be effective in reducing and eliminating hair from unwanted areas, most commonly a woman's leg. However, the use of such devices is attendant with considerable pain and discomfort due to the forceful action of the depilation mechanism.
In an effort to reduce discomfort, one recent device disposes ice in contact with the skin to be depilated, in the path of the movement of the depilation device. The ice has a light numbing effect, which reduces the user's sensitivity at the point of depilation. A problem with this approach is that depilation typically is performed in a private place such as a bathroom, yet ice is not generally available at that location. Instead, and as proposed by Philips Corporation in connection with its HP6453 Satin Ice Optima Epilator, a liquid cartridge is stored in a freezer (e.g., in the family kitchen) until such time that depilation is desired. The cartridge is then retrieved, mounted to the depilator, and then used wherever desired by the user. In order to gain any benefit from this ice treatment, therefore, the user must have planned in advance to have a liquid cartridge in the frozen state, and must be able to comfortably retrieve the cartridge without embarrassment.
There remains a need in the field of depilation to reduce discomfort in a more convenient manner, which does not require storage of grooming devices in a freezer, and which does not require such presence aforethought. The present invention satisfies these and other needs.